Lib Dems take key roles in Cameron Cabinet

A total of five Liberal Democrats have been appointed to the new Cabinet, a move which David Cameron said represented a "historic and seismic shift" in Britain's political landscape.

Heavyweight Tory appointments include William Hague as Foreign Secretary and Ken Clarke as both Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary.

Two major economic portfolios were handed to Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable named Business Secretary and David Laws Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Mr Laws will serve under George Osborne, who was confirmed as Chancellor shortly after David Cameron was installed at Number 10 on Tuesday.

The appointment of Mr Laws as Mr Osborne's deputy will be seen as particularly significant as he will be responsible for deciding where the axe will fall when it comes to spending cuts, ensuring the Liberal Democrats will be thoroughly implicated in the unpopular decisions that will undoubtedly have to come.

Other high profile roles were handed to the Liberal Democrats in the shape of Danny Alexander, named Scottish Secretary, and Chris Huhne, given the job of Energy Secretary.

The major surprise came in the appointment of Theresa May as only the second female Home Secretary in history, following in the footsteps of Labour's Jacqui Smith.

Mrs May's appointment comes at the expense of Chris Grayling, the former Tory Shadow Home Secretary being left out of the Cabinet altogether.

Dewsbury-born Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has also made history by becoming the first Muslim woman to serve in the cabinet of a British Government. Named as Tory chairman, she is also expected to take on a junior Ministerial position.

Yorkshire will further be represented by former Bradford Council leader Eric Pickles, named Communities and Local Government Secretary.

Also confirmed by 10 Downing Street were Tories Andrew Lansley as Health Secretary, Michael Gove as Education Secretary, and Liam Fox as Defence Secretary. Patrick McLoughlin, the Tory chief whip while the party was in opposition, will carry on as the Government Chief Whip

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith was also handed a Cabinet role, named as Work and Pensions Secretary, a move seen as an attempt to appease the Tory right wing.

Jeremy Hunt will also join the Tory top table as Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, having served as a Shadow Minister for the area since 2005.

Elsewhere, Caroline Spelman was named as Environment Secretary, another surprise which sees former Shadow Defra Minister Nick Herbert left out.

Other noticeable absentees were former Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers and former Shadow Energy Secretary Greg Clark.

Mrs Spelman said: "I am delighted to have been appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

"I will work across government and beyond to respond to the challenges of increasing food production, adapting to climate change, protecting our natural environment and ensuring we live sustainably."

Philip Hammond was installed as Transport Secretary, Andrew Mitchell as International Development Secretary, Cheryl Gillan as Wales Secretary and Owen Paterson as Northern Ireland Secretary.

Also attending Cabinet, but not full members, will be Francis Maude as Cabinet Office Minister; Oliver Letwin as Minister of State at the Cabinet Office; David Willetts as Minister of State for Universities and Science; Sir George Young as Leader of the Commons and Dominic Grieve as Attorney General.